Oakes Named Big Ten Kicker of the Year for 2nd time

Indiana fifth-year kicker Griffin Oakes was named the Big Ten’s Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year, the conference announced today. He became the first Hoosier to win the honor in 2015 and is the third two-time winner in league history.

Oakes was one of 20 semifinalists for the 2017 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. He was 16-of-17 on the year, including 11 straight makes to close out the campaign (2nd in program history), and 38-of-39 on extra points, with both misses coming on blocks.

The Greenwood, Ind., native led the Big Ten and was second nationally in field goal percentage (94.1 percent). Oakes was a perfect 15-for-15 from inside the 50-yard line, including 4-of-4 from 40-49 yards, and was one of eight kickers with at least one 50-yarder and an 85.0 percent-or-better accuracy.

He finished 69-of-90 on field goals (76.7) and 145-of-152 on extra points (95.4) in his career. His 69 field goals make him the most prolific kicker in Indiana history, and he is second with 147 extra points and 354 total points.

Additionally, the 69 makes are fifth and the 354 points are eighth in Big Ten history. On IU’s single-season lists, Oakes is fourth with his 16 field goals and sixth with his 38 PATs.